[Anime #1] Kino's Journey

Title: Kino's Journey
Director: Ryutaro Nakamura
Original Creator: Keiichi Sigsawa
Number of Episodes: 13 (complete)
Plot Summary: The story follows the travels of Kino, a young adventurer who rides a talking motorcycle named Hermes. They explore the people and cultures of different places throughout their adventures, spending only three days at each location.

REVIEW: I remember the very first time that I saw the series sitting idly on the anime shelf at Best Buy, I thought to myself, 'That anime series will one day be mine. Kami-sama, the artwork is sooo beautiful.' But for over 2 and a half years I always placed the series back on the shelf everytime that I picked it up. It seemed it was as if Fate believed that I was not yet mentally prepared to appreciate such a series. And it was true...

I recently bought Kino's Journey and found that it was fascinating just by looking at the BOX! >_< Oddly enough, I wasn't thrilled the every first time that I heard/watched the opening theme on youtube just because it looked so obscure and depressing, it prolonged my inevitable purchase of this anime. Eventually, I suppose I was sick of being bored and bombarded with irrelevant things since one one random Thursday, I bought the series (knowing that I could have gotten it for cheaper online) right off the shelf of my local anime store.

The package was beautiful in it's sweet and sleek thinpack packaging. Would make a great collection to anyone's collection. The thinpack has it's advantages as it's a lot cheaper than the original distributing package but because of the smaller price (I suppose) that that is the reason that it didn't have any extras except a few trailers but that was it.

The animation was fascinating! It blew me away from episode one. It was a more flowing (less ragged edged) animation. It made the whole series very pleasing to the eyes.

The story itself was confusing at times but there were definitely no questions that were left unanswered by the end of the anime. What a complex and fascinatingly simplistic story. Filled with contemporary issues that many modern day countries struggle with as it is played out on more exaggerated and larger scale. Each and every story brought me to a more intellectual state of mind as I was being unintentionally educated of the world in which I live in.

The characters were all very interesting in their own way. Kino and partner Hermes were the ones to steal the show with their witty remarks and chill way of life.

I think the only thing that I would critique on is the ending. It felt very abrupt and open-ended. If that was Nakamura-san's intention, then he definitely achieved that aspect of the anime.

Overall: This was a beautifully crafted anime that will leave you breathless from it's animation to its heart wrenching stories of a traveler who knows not where the road will lead to nor how long it would take them to get there. The greatest of adventures lie solely on the open road... won't you drift along for a ride?

Overall (dub) : B+
Overall (sub) : B+/A-
Story : A-
Animation : B+
Art : A-/B+
Music : B